Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a fabulous evening ringing in the new year. After work, Pete and I met at the gym for our last workout of 2014. It always sounds so ominous when you say it that way. I ran 4.04 miles on the treadmill while he did a strength workout. Then we went home for a quiet evening of watching the ball drop in Time Square. Unfortunately, we didn’t even make it past 11 PM before we fell asleep. We are well on our way to becoming the old married couple and we aren’t even married yet! Speaking of our wedding, I started our official wedding countdown over on our wedding blog. While we are still 23 months away from the big day, I would love to know that else needs to go on our checklist.

While we were enjoying a quiet evening at home last night, I thought about all the things that went on in our lives over the past year and what my goals were for the future. I must say that 2014 was filled with plenty of ups and downs. There were many things on my list of goals for 2014 that I didn’t finish or never got around to. On the other hand, there were plenty of things that we did that weren’t on my list (or even my radar) at all. Before I tell you about my goals for 2015, let’s take a look back at 2014.

February

February began with yet another half marathon. This time, I ran the Best Damn Race Safety Harbor. It was a really good race for me and I had a pretty good finish time.

Then a few weeks later, I ran the Glass Slipper Challenge. My mom and younger sister ran the Enchanted 10k with me while my baby sister ran the Princess Half Marathon as her first half marathon.

March

One weekend after the Glass Slipper Challenge, I headed over to Orlando to run yet another half marathon. I ran the Best Damn Race Orlando and it became my faster half marathon in a really long time.

After I finished that race, I decided that I needed to take a break from training for long distance races. I had been struggling with actually sticking to a training program and really needed to take a step back. Pete and I started following Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer program.

I ended the month by running the Firestone Grand Prix 5k around the race track of a local Indy Car race. This race began my crazy summer obsession with running at least a 5k every month.

April

In April, I ran the Iron Girl Clearwater 5k. It was fun to go back to my first race and reminisce about what I have accomplished since that very first race.

May

In May, I ran the Mother’s Day 5k with my mom and baby sister. It was hot, humid, and disgustingly sticky!

June

In June, I ran my first ever race entirely on the beach. A portion of the ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon is run on the beach but it is only the last quarter of mile. The St. Pete Road Runner’s Summer 5k Series is run entirely on the beach. It was a bit of a shock to my system and a little challenging.

We also spent Father’s Day at Downtown Disney giving my dad the chance to meet one of his idols, Chip Foose.

July

I must say that July was probably the biggest month for me. I attended the second annual Food and Wine Conference in Orlando. I thought that would be the most exciting thing that would happen to me all month. Then, Pete did something that I never saw coming. HE PROPOSED! We got engaged on July 20th and wedding brain set in almost immediately.

The month ended with the second 5k race in the St. Pete Road Runner’s Summer Series and the start of the Dopey/Marathon training.

August

At the beginning of August, Pete and I headed up to Chicago to visit my younger sister and my best friend. We ate copious amounts of delicious foods, went to two Chicago Cubs games AND I ran the Chicago 10k with my sister.

I ended the month by running the Sea Dog Brewery 5k, the first race in the American Running Company’s race series. Every race needs to have a beer truck at the finish line!

September

At the beginning of September, I made another trip up to Chicago to attend my best friend’s baby shower. She absolutely no idea that I was coming and it was so much fun to surprise her like that. I can’t wait to meet her beautiful baby girl.

I also ran the Hooters 10k, the second race in the American Running Company’s race series.

At the end of the month, my mom, baby sister and I attended my first ever bridal show. Since I am such a Disney person, it is only right that I should be considering a wedding at Walt Disney World. It was so much fun seeing all of the possibilities that are available for a Disney Wedding.

October

In October, Pete and I went to the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. EAT ALL THE FOOD! We walked away absolutely stuffed.

I slept through my first ever race, the third race in the American Running Company’s race series. I was disappointed in myself but my body was telling me that I really needed to break. It was about this time that I realized I was working way too hard and there was no end in sight. I ended the month with my first half marathon since March, the FrankenFooter Half Marathon.

November

I started November with two back to back half marathons. During the first weekend of the month, I ran the Shipyard Half Marathon, the fourth and final race in the American Running Company’s race series.

The very next weekend, I ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon with my younger sister. I also spent the weekend with my family enjoying the Food and Wine Festival before it ended.

At the end of the month, I turned 30 (!) and had my second DNS ever. I was supposed to run the Space Coast Marathon on my birthday but that didn’t quite happen. During the week of Thanksgiving, my mom went through open heart surgery and I ended up spending most of that week at the hospital with her.

December

To end the year and celebrate our birthdays, Pete and I went on an 8 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. We had an absolute blast except for the whole head cold thing (and not being able to go scuba diving).

After we got home from the cruise, my body started making my life rather difficult. My running took a back seat and I wasn’t able to run any race, which ended my goal of running one race a month for the entire year.

2014 by the numbers:

20 races (1 marathon, 8 half marathons, 4 10k’s, and 7 5k’s)

428.50 running miles

2 trips to Chicago

one cruise to Aruba, Curacao, and Grand Turk

countless trips to Walt Disney World

2015: The Year of Joy

After such an adventure filled year, what is in store for 2015? Honestly, I have no idea. I do know that our adventures will begin next weekend when I once again tackle the Dopey Challenge. Once that is finished, Pete and I will be heading off on another cruise. This time we will be going on a Disney cruise as part of the Castaway Cay Challenge. Once those adventures are over, I have no clue what the rest of the year will hold. There will be running, racing, tons of hours at work, and some wedding planning.

Normally, I would have a laundry list of goals that I want to accomplish for the new year. I would be all excited about tackling my goals and starting the new year. I have been doing this for the last several years and without fail I hardly ever accomplish all of my goals. Rather than feeling like a failure at the end of the year, I have decided to do things a little bit differently. Instead of setting another laundry list of year long goals, I am going to set smaller monthly goals and focus on accomplishing those. My resolution for 2015 is to live joyfully.

At some point last year, I realized that I had lost the joy in my day to day life and I want to get it back. I want to find the joy in running again. I want to remember the joy I have in writing daily. I want to finally find the joy in being me. That is what my resolution is for 2015.

About Rachel L.

Rachel is a 30 year old civil engineer by day and a coffee-addicted runner by night. She loves traveling, eating, and enjoying life. Currently, she is living in the Tampa Bay area of Florida with her fiance and their two amazing fur babies.

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Welcome to Runner’s Tales

Hi, I am Rachel Wright, the coffee loving, Disney fanatic, and marathon running blogger behind Runner's Tales. I am a 30-something Florida girl living near Tampa Bay. I am a full-time civil engineer on a quest to find a healthy balance in this crazy world we live in. Read More…

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I am not a registered dietitian or personal trainer. My blog is simply documentation of my personal journey. All views expressed are mine alone and based on my own personal experiences. They should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional before making any changes to your eating habits or physical activities.

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